DUBAI, March 19. /TASS/. The Gaza settlement talks between Israel and the Palestinian radical movement Hamas have yielded no breakthrough solutions as of yet, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman, Majed Al-Ansari said.

"Technical groups held a meeting; we discussed some details with them. But it is too early to talk about any breakthroughs. But we are optimistic as the talks have actually resumed," the Al Jazeera television channel quoted him as saying at a news conference in Doha, commenting on Mossad chief David Barnea’s visit to the Qatari capital city.

According to the Qatari diplomat, Barnea "has brought Israel’s response" to the Hamas proposal. However, he noted that although participants in the consultations are focusing on technical aspects, that doesn’t mean that a deal could be expected soon.

Touching on Israel’s plans to conduct an operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Al-Ansari noted that "any attack on Rafah will have a negative effect on the deal." "Such an attack would escalate the situation. It cannot be justified by any tactical considerations," he stressed, adding that the peace initiative "could hardly be successful in such an environment."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on March 15 that the Israeli side had turned down Hamas’ latest proposal. Israel will continue the negotiating process and will send a delegation to Doha, the prime minister’s office said on the same day.

The Israeli Kan radio station said earlier that Barnea had held talks with the Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Doha on Tuesday night and returned home for "further consultations" on Tuesday morning. However, according to Kan, a team of mediators including officers of Mossad, Shabak (Israeli Security Agency), and IDF (Israel Defense Forces), is still in Doha.